Parish Council
What is a Parish Council?
Nine local residents are elected to be parish councillors every four years to represent the Parish population, currently approximately 1900 people. The Councillors elect the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council annually in May. In June 2009, Feering was awarded Quality Parish Council status. To do this, we had to demonstrate that the we consistenly met the required standards for an effective, representative and active parish council. Although only small in comparison with some, we are the first of the parish councils in this area to be recognised as a Quality Council. Only 48 out of 270 parish councils in Essex have achieved this.
What Does the Parish Council Do?
The Council maintains the footpaths, bridleways and rights of way within the Parish, including the scenic Rafted Path across the Moor, on behalf of Essex County Council's Highway Authority, and is a member of the Parish Paths Partnership run by Essex County Council. The Council is responsible for liaising with various statutory authorities about anything which may affect the future of Feering, such as housing development locally and in neighbouring villages, and the impact this may have, for example on traffic volumes. In early 2011, the Council initiated a process engaging with the community to create a long term vision for Feering.
The Council is responsible for maintaining:
- The playing field in Rye Mill Lane, which includes an adult and a junior football pitches, and the skatepark.
- The children's play area located on the Rye Mill Lane Playing Field
- The five bus shelters on Feering Hill, London Rd and the A12 north and south slip roads
- The various seats and benches around the village
- A number of streetlights for which the County Council are not responsible
- Litterpicking and emptying the many litter bins
- The village sign on The Green
In addition, Councillors monitor the operation of all the streetlights throughout Feering, and the emptying of the dogwaste bins.
The Council has the right of representation on all planning applications in Feering, and those in neighbouring parishes which may impact on Feering. The Council considers planning applications and submits its comments on these to the local Planning Authority, Braintree District Council, who are responsible for making the decisions.
Grants
The Council supports various local voluntary organisations through its Grant Scheme. Applications are considered annually by the Council, and should be submitted to the Parish Clerk no later than the end of September.
Income
The Parish Council receives a small percentage of the Council Tax collected by Braintree District Council.
Audited Accounts
Like all p
ublic bodies the Parish Council must prepare Accounts each Financial Year (1 April to 31 March), and these have to be independently audited. The Annual Accounts are available for inspection on this web site.